By The Seat Of Her Pants
by Cloperella
Summary: While shopping for clothes with her friend Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps encounters and pursues a petty shoplifter to the border of the Rainforest District. The uncultivated trees and brush take their toll on her clothing, until a leap through the air leaves her snagged by her pants on a branch. Judy's determined to catch the thief though, even if it means chasing him without her pants!


Pulling the pair of charcoal black jeans up to her waist and zipping the front fly up, the small gray rabbit moved her paws up to straighten out the sleeves of her violet jacket over her white short sleeve shirt. With the final piece of her attire complete, she rose her head up, looking into the mirror of the pine wallpapered dressing room. Her eyes traveled from her long, black-tipped ears to her large gray feet, inspecting the outfit from top to bottom. She liked the V-indention at the neck, stopping right above the center of her petite bust to expose just a bit of the lighter fur on her chest. She also appreciated the the skinny jeans hugging her legs, slimming down some of the roundness of her behind. Something about the jacket seemed off to her though. While she admired its violet color to match that of her eyes, something about the long sleeves made it look too formal, like she was dressing up as a teacher for an elementary school class.

Thinking on her feet, the bunny grabbed the end of each sleeve and pushed them up her arms, stopping just before reaching her elbows. With her forearms exposed, she placed her paws on her hips and took another look in the mirror. A satisfied grin spread across her face when she took in the new appearance. Making her arms more visible took away from the formality of the outfit in favor of looking more youthful and trendy. She found it funny how even the slightest change could make or break an outfit of choice.

"Judy, you're killing me here," a voice called to her from the other side of the door, "You've been trying on clothes for half an hour now; we going to Misty's or not?"

Judy rolled her eyes at the sound of the voice calling to her. "Quit your bellyaching, Nick," she replied, reaching into her purse and pulling out her phone to check the time, "There's no way it's… oh, wow," she muttered upon looking at her screen. They'd entered the store at one o'clock, and the screen showed her that the current time was now one-thirty.

"Yeah, thirty minutes Carrots; I've been counting," Nick said back to her, "You want me to starve while you fuss over outfits?"

"Okay, okay — this is the last one, then we'll go," Judy assured him, turning around to twist the doorknob.

"That's what you said ten minutes ago."

"This time I mean it." Judy opened the door and stepped past the threshold of the women's dressing rooms. A red fox about a foot taller than she stood against the wall to her left, dressed in khaki dress pants, a light brown coat over a teal shirt and with a blue scarf wrapped around his neck. "What do you think, Nick? Yes or no?" Judy asked, striking the same pose she'd made less than a minute ago. The fox turned to face her, putting his paw to his chin as he looked over her from head to toe.

"Front and back?" Nick asked, twirling his paw around in a circle. Judy turned around in a circle, giving the fox a chance to inspect her from all sides and judge her attire properly. "Not bad. It's conventional, but still fresh and sporty. I like it."

"Me too," Judy replied, appreciating Nick giving sincere judgment of her outfit in spite of his impatience, "But I can't decide if I want to get this one or the other ones I tried out."

"Come on Carrots, please just pick one," Nick pleaded, his face lifting up toward the ceiling with frustration.

"Right, okay, I'll just get this one." Judy said, drawing a relieved sigh from the fox in front of her, "Let me just change back into my other clothes, make the purchase, and we'll get going."

"But you said you wanted to pick an outfit out to wear to Misty's, right?"

"Yeah?"

"And that's the outfit you're wearing?" Nick asked, pointing to her.

"Yes?"

"So you're changing back into your clothes that you wore in, just so you can buy them and change BACK into them?"

"They have to remove the tags. I don't want them putting their paws all over me just so I can wear them out of the store. Relax you big complainer, you're not gonna starve," she said, before closing the door to the dressing room away from the fox who glared at her.

Judy slipped the jacket off with haste and hung it on the rack, before reaching down and pulling her shirt up over her head. Standing in her white bra with little carrots sprinkled about, she felt just a smidgen of guilt for keeping Nick waiting. She'd not meant to take up so much time fussing over clothing; it was just so rare that she ever found the time to explore the shops in the Rainforest District. The Rainwater Creek store was renowned for having high-end selections not available anywhere else in Zootopia. Once Judy had entered the store, she'd felt her eyes light up at the number of selections on display for so many mammals, a large portion of them on sale today. Everything from full-length dresses to button down shirts and floral scarves, everything looked so enticing and colorful. She felt compelled to walk out with a purchase, but wanted to make sure it was the right choice before dropping a lot of money on it. Nick was doing her a big favor by coming out with her to help her try on clothes. It wasn't often that a woman could say she had a male best friend to do such a thing with.

She'd make it up to him within the next hour. Once she'd purchased her clothes, they would make their way to Misty's on the Vine, a fancy restaurant that had some of the best gourmet bug-burgers in town. It wasn't something that Judy found appetizing, but she was willing to treat Nick in return for helping her make an outfit selection. She'd read online that they had veggie pizza as well, which she was more than content to eat while Nick enjoyed his burger. Unzipping her fly, Judy pulled her jeans down past her panties with the same carrot pattern of her bra, then kicked them to the side. She reached under the seat against the wall, pulling out the outfit she'd worn when they first entered the store. Unfolding the black yoga pants, Judy slipped a leg through the holes of each side, before pulling them up and stretching the fabric over her curvaceous rear-end. While the tight fabric didn't hide the size of her ample cheeks the same way her new outfit would, the bottom of Judy's gray short-sleeve was just long enough to cover up its form.

Pulling her shirt over her head and slipping her fluffy white tail through the slits in her pants and shirt, Judy looked at herself in the mirror once more. Looking at it from the side, the length of her shirt only covered the top half of her behind, still showing a bit of meat from the bottom half. She turned her back to the mirror, rubbing her right paw over the width of her round cheeks from one side to the other. Had she'd gained a bit of weight back there over time, or had she just never noticed how big of a butt she'd had until just now?

"Judy, for God's sake," Nick griped from the other side.

"Coming!" Judy replied, grabbing her purse and outfit of choice in a hurry before twisting the doorknob. Large posterior or otherwise, Judy would just have to deal with it for a few more minutes, then she could change back into her slimming pants before she and Nick went to Misty's. Stepping out of the dressing room again, she met Nick's gaze, staring at her with wide eyes and leaning his head toward the checkout line. "You are such a child," she teased, bawling her paw into a fist and tapping him on the stomach.

"Well, I get crabby when I'm hungry, so really it's your fault," Nick fired back.

"Still childish," Judy said, before Nick stuck his tongue out at her. "See? Point proven."

Despite their quarrel, Judy derived some satisfaction from their bickering. It was all light-hearted playfulness, all throughout the year they'd known each other. Even before they could call each other friends, it had been a game of wit between the two while they'd worked together on finding a missing otter, which led to them busting an anti-predator conspiracy case wide open and a corrupt mayor behind prison bars. A year of academy training later, Nick had joined the Zootopia Police Department as Judy's partner. He'd become the city's first fox officer, just like she'd become the city's first rabbit officer a year prior. A month had passed since his graduation, and their friendly rivalry had only made their friendship stronger than ever. Judy enjoyed the constant tug of war between them, seeing who could one-up the other in their competition of witty banter. Standing in line with Nick at the moment, Judy couldn't think of another mammal in the world she'd rather spend this kind of time with.

With only a few mammals ahead of them in line, Judy's eyes wandered the store, looking for anything she might want to come back for some day in the future. Her eyes caught the sight of a mammal in a navy hoodie walking through the store entrance. While it wasn't uncommon for someone to wear a hooded jacket in a store, Judy noticed that the hood remained up and over their eyes to obscure their face. The mammal looked to match her size, maybe an inch taller, but its yellow tail sticking out its dark pants looked long and thin, similar to the tail of a feline predator.

"Nick," Judy whispered, tugging on the fox's coat sleeve. When he turned to face her, Judy nodded her head toward the hooded mammal, walking toward the shirt section.

"I know what you're thinking," Nick muttered, keeping his voice low, "Don't do it."

"Don't you think it's suspicious they have their hood up?" Judy asked.

"They might just be really ugly."

"Or, they're hiding their face,"

"Yeah, because they're really ugly," Nick persisted. Ignoring his insistence, Judy pulled her outfit selection up and pushed it into Nick's paws. "Carrots, don't do it," Nick pleaded, while taking her clothes into his grasp, "We're off duty today. Let the store handle it."

"Just because we're off duty doesn't mean we stop doing the right thing," Judy replied.

"Well, what are you gonna do if you catch him, huh? You don't have cuffs on you."

"I got these," Judy replied, reaching into the thin pockets of her yoga pants and pulling out a wad of plastic zip ties, "They're surprisingly durable. You'd have to be the strongest rhino in the city to break out of them." Judy put the ties back into her pocket, before reaching into her purse and pulling out her wallet. She fished out two twenty-dollar bills and passed them to Nick along with her other belongings. "Just give me the change back, okay?"

"Nope," Nick refused, "I'll cover it myself."

"Really?" Judy asked with surprise.

"Yeah. Let's call it an early birthday present."

"Aw, Nick!" Judy replied, reaching a paw toward his wrist and giving it a gentle squeeze, "Thank you."

Nick looked down at her paw touching his with a warm grin, "No problem," he said with modesty, "Alright, go on, Supercop. Stop that delinquent from stealing a forty-dollar shirt."

Judy let go of Nick's paw and pinched the side of his stomach, making him yelp a bit before grinning even wider. Judy felt touched that Nick would buy her outfit as a gift, even after suffering with an empty stomach on her behalf. Now she was definitely treating him to lunch; more than that, she would even insist on buying him dessert too.

Moving to the shirt section the predator had slinked off to, Judy approached from the other side, moving her paw through the various items as if looking to make a selection herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she kept watch on the predator, looking through the shirts themselves. If she hadn't been looking she would have missed it: the predator had a paw-warmer packet in its grasp, rubbing it back and forth to activate its heating properties. After rubbing the heater against the plastic sensor bar for a few seconds, the mammal scooped up the shirt and stowed it away in the pocket of their hoodie. Just when they'd turned around, Judy cleared her throat with volume, making them stop in their tracks.

 _Busted,_ Judy thought to herself, approaching the petrified feline from behind.

"That's a pretty neat little trick there," Judy said while drawing closer to them, "Using a paw warmer to fry the sensor's circuitry, that way the alarm won't go off when you leave. Very clever." Still covered by the hood, the mammal turned to face Judy. She could see that it was a male feline, its yellow and black-spotted face resembling that of a jaguar. Matching her own height, she deduced that it was an ocelot, a very small minority of predators in the city. Judging from his soft and round face, she wagered he was still a teenager, a senior in high school at the most. "How about you put that back and leave the store, and I'll forget that I saw anything?"

"What's it to you, rabbit?" the ocelot asked with a scowl on his face, "I don't see a store tag on you. Maybe I should forget I saw you, so you don't get hurt?"

"I may not be an employee of the store, sir… but I am an employee of the city," Judy warned him, reaching into her pocket and showing him her police badge. Upon viewing the golden metal with blue lettering, the ocelot's eyes widened in alarm. "Your move, buster. We gonna do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

His eyes still open wide, the ocelot's gaze moved up to meet Judy's, matching his stare with a fierce and determined glare. The two remained locked in their staredown for several seconds, neither of them blinking. Judy could have sworn that she heard whistling from above, reminding her of the old western movies her father used to watch when she still with her family.

In one swift motion, the ocelot grabbed the plastic mammalquin off of the table and threw it downwards at the rabbit. Judy dashed out of the path of the object, letting it shatter into large pieces over where she'd stood a quarter-second ago. From underneath the table, Judy saw the thief sprint toward the front entrance, before she scampered out from the table in pursuit of him.

 _Hard way it is,_ Judy thought, dashing from the cover of the table and chasing the ocelot out of the store, into the traffic of shoppers in the mall corridor.

* * *

"Alright sir, we'll just get these wrapped up to protect them from the rain outside, and you'll be all set," the female jaguar clerk said to Nick as she returned his credit card to him, "Would you like a gift receipt for — ?" her speech was cut off by the loud of a mammalquin breaking against the floor a few aisles away from them. She, Nick and everyone else in line turned to see the ocelot sprinting out the door, with Judy following several feet behind him.

"Actually, do me a favor?" Nick said, passing Judy's purse to the clerk and pushing it toward the clothes he'd just purchased, along with his umbrella, "Can you hold onto these so I can come back for them later?"

"Um, yes sir I can do that," she replied, "Can I get a name?"

"Nick Wilde; thanks," the fox replied, before he took off with a dash out of the store himself. Running out of the store, Nick looked to his right, seeing nothing but a number of shoppers walking past one another. Looking to his left, he saw the same amount of shoppers, albeit frozen in surprise and hugging the wall behind them. At the end of the gap between the shoppers, he saw Judy still running after the hooded ocelot in front of her, toward the mall's exit doors.

Grumbling in frustration, Nick fished his cell phone out of his pocket. He punched in the numbers 911 and hit the Enter key while running through the cleared path, his scarf flapping behind his head. The other side of the line rang only once before someone picked up.

"Zootopia Police Department, what's your emergency?" the male operator asked.

"This is Officer Wilde, badge three-five-eight; get me to dispatch," Nick instructed.

"One moment," the operator replied, following a click and a few seconds of silence, before another click followed by a familiar voice.

"Hey Wilde, what's going on?" the voice of ZPD's Dispatch Officer Benjamin Clawhauser said to him.

"Benjy, it's Nick," the fox said into his phone while giving chase down the mall corridor, "I'm at the Riverside Mall in the Rainforest District; Hopps is chasing a shoplifter, they just went outside. Can you send a squad to try and intercept them?"

"Uh, yeah, let me put the call out, see if there's any officers near Rainforest," Clawhauser replied, while Nick heard the sound of the cheetah typing at a keyboard, "Can you describe the shoplifter?"

"Feline, short — about Hopps's size, probably an ocelot. They're wearing a navy hoodie and black pants."

"Got it. Call me back in a bit, keep me updated on their location."

"Will do," Nick said, before hanging up and putting the phone back in his pocket. Running outside, the fox found himself doused by the light showers overhead, sprinkled from the highest trees in the district. Nick wished that he hadn't left his umbrella behind in the Rainwater Creek store, but he realized running with an umbrella wouldn't be very practical. Looking through his surroundings, he couldn't spot any sign of Judy or the ocelot on the run.

He could however see a vendor structured near a gondola, seeing one of the cars pulling up along the airborne towline heading upwards. Pulling his wallet out from his pocket, Nick pulled out a ten-dollar bill and cut to the front of the line, flashing his own police badge to the vendor.

"Officer Wilde; I need binoculars right now," he said, prompting the vendor to quickly pass him a pair for his size, "Thanks," Nick said, tossing the money at him.

"Sir, they're only five dollars!" the vendor called when Nick ran toward the arriving car at the top.

"Keep the change!" Nick yelled back, flashing his police badge to the other mammals in line for the gondola and boarding it himself. Once it began to rise again, Nick slung the binocular straps behind his neck, then pulled the visors up to his eyes and looked over the side.

 _Alrighty Hopps, where'd you get off to?_ Nick wondered as he surveyed the soaking wet environment below him . The Rainforest district wasn't the largest quadrant of Zootopia by any means, but it was one of the most complex due to the many levels above and below one another. With the gondola gaining height, Nick's view of the district's city streets began to broaden underneath him. The sight of pedestrians in The Canopy area jumping to the side or being knocked over caught his eye, and he moved his binoculars to inspect the event more closely. There he spotted the hooded ocelot still pursued by off-duty Judy Hopps, jumping over fallen pedestrians without losing any ground on her part.

 _Atta' girl, Hopps. Stay on him._

* * *

In through the nose, and out through the mouth. Judy kept her breath steady and composed, even while running near top speed after the ocelot. She found it impressive that he could run as fast as her without losing speed, but she had years of endurance and stamina training on her part. In addition, the police academy had prepared her for running through the Rainforest District, preventing her from slipping and sliding across the wet wooden planks of the area. Judy was willing to bet that a petty thrift-store shoplifter wouldn't have that kind of stamina comparable to her own. She just needed to stay on his tail and eventually he would tire himself out, letting her pounce on him to make the arrest.

The ocelot had jumped off the side of the bridge they were on, dropping half a story to the one below them. It was an easy feat for Judy to careen off the side and land with grace, not losing an ounce of momentum in the process. The thief turned to see Judy still hot on his tail, before pushing himself forward, toward the drawbridge ahead of him. Judy looked upward and saw a dirigible approaching through the air, prompting traffic and pedestrians to stop in their tracks while the bridge began to lift and separate. The ocelot jumped over the small gap as it had only begun opening a few seconds before he cleared it. Judy had to push herself to run even faster, climbing the steepening bridge to the top, and leap off of the edge of the bridge. Her ears flapping behind her, Judy's arms grabbed the open space in front of her, swimming through the air to propel herself over the wide gap.

"No way! Did you see that!?" someone screamed from below when she landed on the other side without losing any momentum, followed by a series of cheers and applause on both sides of her. It was a challenge to sprint down the other side with the sharpening incline without falling over, but Judy fought to keep her balance upright all the way down until she reached a level platform again. Once again the ocelot looked back, and his eyebrows jumped at the sight of Judy still in pursuit of him.

 _That the best you got, kitty cat?_ Judy thought as she kept chase with him, _Two things I excel at: running and leaping. You better give up now before you get yourself hurt._

As the rabbit continued her pursuit, the shoplifter ran off the road and began climbing through the uncultivated marshy mountainside of the district. The ocelot's claws scraped past the branches and up the rocky mountainside with an impressive speed, clearing nearly half the distance by the time Judy reached the edge of the road.

Squatting as far as she could, Judy bounced off the ground and soared through the air, clearing more than a yard up the mountainside and landing on a small tree branch steady enough to support her weight. She jumped again from the branch, clearing the same distance as she grabbed the rocky edge of the mountain and pulled herself upright. Looking upward, she saw the ocelot had reached the top and scurried away, out of her view. She gave another mighty leap to another branch, then hopped off and onto the top of the mountainside, resuming her chase.

The shopping areas of the Rainforest District, while still keeping with the aesthetic of a natural forest habitat, had still been cultivated to accommodate a shopping populus in comfort. Outside of the developed areas, Judy and the ocelot had entered the untouched land of the district, where wildlife had been allowed to grow into a mess of hanging vines and bramble from all sides.

While Judy kept up her chase, she began to notice a problem within a few seconds of running. The surrounding bramble and brush kept tugging at the threads of her shirt, pulling some of the thread at the bottom apart. At one point, one of the thorns snagged the bottom of her shirt from the front and brought her running pace to a halt. Realizing she was losing ground, Judy tore the snagged portion apart from the front of her belly halfway around her waist. Resuming her pursuit of the thief, the loose piece of fabric flapped from the torn tailhole like a flag in the wind once she'd cleared the surrounding brush.

 _Stay focused,_ Judy commanded herself, _It's just a shirt; you can get a new one at Wallaby-Mart if you have to._

A minute passed, and Judy noticed the lack of rain pouring from overhead sprinklers above the district. A dim glow of sunlight made itself apparent in front of her. They were reaching the border of the Rainforest District, with Savanna Central on the other side. Even while running, Judy could hear a loud commotion in the distance on her left; a heavy chugging sound moving along at a rapid pace.. It was the sound of Zootopia Express train, making its rounds through the city and nearing the tracks in the middle of the chasm ahead. She could see the gray concrete and steel tracks ahead of them, and when she looked to her left, saw the approaching train. Judy felt her chest clench as she watched the ocelot run toward the cliff.

"It's just a shirt, you idiot!" Judy screamed while she kept her pace through the bushes tugging at her shirt, "It's not worth your life!"

Her warning fell on deaf ears. The predator jumped forward, clearing several yards through the air with his chest slamming against the side of the track wall. The blare of the train's horn rang out as his feet scrambled frantically against the concrete surface below him. Judy watched in horror as the ocelot struggled to pull himself up. He had to make it to the other side before the train ran him over, if he didn't fall miles below to his doom at the bottom of the cliff.

In a miraculous feat, the ocelot pulled himself up and sprinted to the other side, only a few seconds before the train sped by where he'd just been. Judy felt a bit of relief knowing her chase hadn't led to a dead shoplifter, but she still had no intention of letting him get away. Looking around, Judy picked out the tallest tree near her and began to climb up its trunk at a quickened pace. Climbing up the tree, the loose part of her torn shirt became tangled within one of the branches sticking out at an odd angle. Judy tried for a few seconds to see how to untangle it, before giving up and yanking it upward. With one strong tug, Judy pulled herself free, at the price of the bottom half of her shirt tearing off completely, leaving the fur of her waist exposed all around. She considered it a small price to pay for upholding the law, and continued her trek up the tree.

Once Judy reached a height above the train still passing through, she found a branch loose enough to push back, but sturdy enough not to break if pushed too hard. Putting her right foot against it, she pushed herself back as far as she could without making the branch crack.

 _God, I hope this works,_ Judy thought, feeling her legs shake as the branch bent under the weight of her foot. In one quick motion, Judy lifted her other foot up, and the force of the branch swinging forward launched her into the air, several yards above the passing train. Soaring through the air, she could see the ocelot still running, looking behind to see that the rabbit was no longer behind him. Seeing a shadow across the ground, he looked upwards, shocked to see a rabbit flying over him.

Too far over him, in fact. Judy's momentum through the air kept her flying forward, over the ocelot and toward a large tree that Judy noticed as she looked forward.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP!" Judy screamed, lifting her arms over her head and bracing herself for impact. She shoulder slammed into the tree trunk hard, sending a shockwave of pain throughout her body. Before she could even yelp from the pain, she fell downward and hit the branch below her, and the one below that as she careened down below.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!" Judy exclaimed from each collision against the branches on her way toward the ground. She saw out of her vision the ground approaching, and closed her eyes, praying she didn't land on her head and break her neck. By a miracle, her momentum came to a jarring halt without contact from the ground, springing her up just a bit before leaving her still. Judy opened her eyes, her vision blurry from the rush of the environment and the sudden drop from an elevated jump and fall. Her body ached from the several impacts, but nothing felt broken or even dislocated. She'd suffered a punch from a rhino, a several story drop through trees with Nick, and even landed with a hard roll onto stiff concrete from a crashing train. She could deal with this threshold of pain well enough.

Judy noticed something approaching in her blurry vision, and shook her head to see the ocelot walking toward her. He'd ceased running and instead strolled forward at a leisurely gait with a smug grin on his face. He continued walking past her, blowing a whistle through his lips as he disappeared from her view.

"Hey, would ya look at that," he said, Judy pulling her neck upwards to get an upside down view of the thief, "Pretty nice view from under there, eh?"

"Under where?" Judy asked with annoyance.

"Exactly! Underwear!" the ocelot chortled. It took a moment, but Judy's eyes opened wide when she connected what the ocelot meant. She was hanging upside down from a branch pointed upward, which had snagged her by the waist of her yoga pants. With gravity doing its work on her, the branch had yanked the back of her pants upward, giving the shoplifter a clear view of her white panties with little orange carrots decorating them. Judy's paws leaped to cover her behind in embarrassment. It had been a miracle that the branch hadn't skewered her stomach, but Judy still cursed the tree for snagging her tight pants and exposing her panties to the thief.

"Laugh it up, kitty litter!" Judy exclaimed, her eyes fiery with anger and burning toward the laughing predator, "When I get down from here, you're gonna be in a — world of — urgh, come on!" Judy screamed, wriggling about from the hanging branch in vain. Despite her struggle, the branch held her in place, the only movement being her feet sliding through her legholes a bit.

"Careful rabbit, or else you might fall out without and decency at all," the ocelot sniggered, pulling his phone out and snapping a picture of Judy's underwear with the built-in camera. "Welp, this has been fun and all, but I've got a shirt to enjoy, stolen fair and square."

"Seriously?" Judy asked, still struggling to pull herself free, "You went through all this trouble — almost got yourself killed on the train tracks — just for a forty-dollar shirt?"

"I think that says more about you than it does me, carrot-panties," the ocelot chuckled, before turning away, "See you later, Officer Cottontail!"

Judy's teeth ground against themselves in fury from the sight of the ocelot strolling away, whistling to himself in a joyful tune. Judy pushed her chin against her chest to look up and see where the branch had snagged her pants. It had pierced the back of the tailhole of her yoga pants, pushing through the front and missing her crotch by a few inches. Judy reached her paws up and pulled the torn spot up, hoping she could shimmy it back and to the end of the branch to escape its clutches. Gravity continued to work against her and her arm strength, making it impossible to lift herself upwards without tearing a bigger hole through them. From her earlier struggles only getting her legs through, she came to the realization that she could not escape this tree with her pants intact.

Tilting her head back again, she could still see the ocelot ahead of her, taking his sweet time to leave her behind. Her heart burned with fury, his smug voice still poking at her pride as he strutted away from her. She would not let him get away, no matter the cost.

Reaching into her pockets, Judy pulled out her badge and zip ties, letting them fall to the ground below her. Holding onto the waist of her pants, Judy began to shake her legs back and forth at a rapid pace along with her hips, working through the leg holes and lowering herself closer to the ground.

Little by little, her gray thighs slipped past her tight black pants , followed by her calves until only her ankles remained. Sticking her butt upwards, Judy grabbed onto the waist of her pants to keep herself from falling, hearing the fabric rip and tear from her weight swinging them back and forth. With one last tug from each leg, her feet slipped through, and she dropped from the branch, her yoga pants tearing slow enough to let her land on the grass with only a slight drop. Letting go of her destroyed pants, Judy reached her paws to the ground, picking up her police badge and zip ties. With her paws full, she lifted her head, seeing the ocelot as a tiny speck in the distance. Growling with anger, Judy sprinted forward faster than ever, closing the gap between them in just a few seconds. Hearing the sound of her feet thumping the grass, the ocelot turned to look behind him.

"What the — !?" he screamed from the sight approaching nearer to him: a rabbit officer in her white carrot panties, sprinting toward him at an incredible pace, her teeth clenched and eyes wide with rage. With a fearful scream, the ocelot made a frantic dash to get away from the crazed officer hot on his pursuit.

* * *

"JUDY!" Nick screamed from his position in the gondola crossing high over the Rainforest District. The rain from overhead had stopped a minute ago as he neared the border of the district. He'd lost sight of Hopps chasing the ocelot for a moment when they had climbed up the mountainside crowded with trees and brush. He'd seen the thief avoid getting splattered by the Zootopia Express, scrambling to get past the tracks and jump to the other side. A few seconds later, he watched Judy propel herself over the speeding train, crashing into a tree on the other side and dropping out of his sight once again.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God," Nick muttered, his shaking paw dialing 911 on his phone again.

"Zootopia Police Dep —"

"Wilde, badge 358, dispatch now," he said with a sharp tone. The line immediately clicked, followed by another one a few seconds later.

"We've got McHorn and Wolfard over at Rainforest District right now," Clawhauser's voice said over the line. "Talk to me Nick, what's going on? Where's her location?"

"Judy, she's — Clawhauser, I've lost sight of her," Nick explained, scrambling to keep his words straight, "She just launched herself through the air and crashed into a tree. She fell down, and I haven't seen any movement for a minute. I…" Nick continued to stare at the trees down below, praying for any kind of movement.

"Nick?" Clawhauser asked in a worried tone, "Is Judy okay?"

"I-I-I don't know," Nick stammered, feeling his stomach turn, "I don't want to say 'officer down' in case it's a false alarm, but I haven't — wait, WAIT! I see something!" Nick yelled, noticing some of the branches moving from below. "I think it's her, let's see."

The gondola continued moving along its elevated rail, and the sun began to shine through as it approached Savanna Central. Nick's eyes followed the movement of the shaking trees all the way to the borders of the Rainforest District, seeing an ocelot emerge from the forest and into the sunny clearing on the other side. A few seconds passed, and he could see the head of a gray rabbit emerge right behind him.

"It's Judy! She's okay!" Nick screamed, hearing a relieved sigh from Clawhauser, "She's still in pursuit, she's — oh… oh no," Nick muttered, once his binoculars caught a full view of Officer Wilde all the way to her gray legs. "Oh my God."

"Nick, what's going on? Spit it out."

"Jud — sh — Ah —" Nick shook his head, forcing himself to speak properly, "They're — they're heading to Savanna Central. Eastbound, outer rim of Highway Thirty-Five. Send another unit out there — no, send two, we're gonna need a ride back to the station."

"Okay, I'll see if anyone's patrolling near —!"

"No, don't send them from the streets; send someone straight from ZPD, and uh… tell them to bring a pair of sweatpants. Rabbit sized."

"Uh… Nick? What's going on?" Clawhauser asked with confusion.

"Time's a factor, Clawhauser!"

"Okay, okay, sending you another two units— and some pants — criminy!"

With Clawhauser hanging up, Nick continued to keep watch on the chase taking place below him. As much as he kept watch as Judy's backup, he felt his face burn every time he looked at her, unable to keep his binoculars from glancing down at her posterior only covered by her dainty white undies.

 _I'm a good cop,_ Nick told himself, gulping as his vision bounced between the fleeing ocelot and Judy's underwear. His paw tugged at the scarf, feeling tighter and tighter with each second that ticked by, _I'm a good cop, I'm a good cop, I'm a good cop._

* * *

 _I'm a good cop, I'm a good cop, I'm a good cop,_ Judy repeated over and over in her head, keeping her running pace up even as she and the shoplifter sprinted down the cliffs outside the Rainforest District, _I'm chasing a thief in broad daylight in my underwear! I'm going this far to uphold the law, because I am a darn good cop!_ Judy counted her blessings, thankful that as long as they kept running across the wide-open cliffs of the district border, nobody else would see her running without pants on.

As Judy kept her eyes on the running ocelot, she happened to look up in the direction he ran toward, seeing the tall shiny buildings of Savanna Central in the distance. They'd run at least five miles by now; from the Riverside Mall to the border between the Rainforest District and Savanna Central. It felt like hours, but judging by the sun's position in the sky, her farmer's intuition told her it was close to two-o'clock. The day was still fresh, and there would of course be plenty of mammals walking or driving about the city streets they ran toward at the moment.

 _Are you kidding me!?_ Judy cursed the shoplifter running from her, toward the busiest district in the city, _You're gonna make me run after you past all those mammals in my underwear!?_

Judy screamed in frustration, pushing herself to run even faster. She started to feel the burn in her legs, but she had caught her second wind and had plenty of stamina to burn. The adrenaline coursing through her forced her to keep going, to take this guy down. At the moment, she didn't care if the whole world saw her in her unmentionables; this guy would answer to the law no matter what it cost her.

A few minutes of running passed, and the runners reached the border of Savanna Central. As expected, Judy saw a number of cars driving along the streets and highways, along with mammals walking along the sidewalks. Some were families, some employees walking to their jobs; others were homeless mammals pushing stolen grocery carts with what little they had. Once they'd entered the city, Judy saw a number of cars and mammals come to a sudden halt, watching the rabbit run past them with no pants on after an ocelot running away from her. She heard gasps and chuckles come from all sides, but she kept her eyes on the thief running from her.

 _Block it out, Hopps!_ Judy told herself, her feet scampering across the city pavement toward the delinquent, _Keep going forward! Eyes on the prize!_

The two continued to run, entering the area of the city with a taller collection of buildings surrounding them. A number of mammals dressed in business suits jumped to the side to avoid the ocelot and Judy running down the sidewalk, noticing after they'd passed that the rabbit's bottom half was only dressed in a pair of white carrot-patterned panties. Judy continued to charge forward, seeing the ocelot's pace slowing down just a bit. She was getting closer and closer, approaching the final moments of her long chase across the city!

Glancing behind and seeing that Judy was gaining on him, the shoplifter darted down a nearby alley. Judy had to skid to change her momentum, and double back to follow him down the alley she'd missed. She'd lost a bit of ground behind him, but she felt determined to keep up with him. She could feel herself getting a bit tired; she could only imagine he felt even worse at this point.

Passing the middle of the alleyway, the ocelot grazed a young raccoon, busying himself with spraying his initials on the brick wall with a can of paint. Judy would have loved to bust him for vandalism, but she knew better than to take on more than one case at a time. Nearing the raccoon, an idea popped into her head. She passed her zip ties from one paw into the same one holding her badge, just a few seconds before she approached the teenage raccoon staring at her bare legs and underwear.

"I'm borrowing this," Judy shouted, before snatching the can of paint out of the raccoon's paw. Judy saw the ocelot emerge from the alleyway up ahead, and she sprinted with the last of her resolve to close the distance quickly. Emerging from the alleyway herself, fate blessed her with a clear path between her and the ocelot, no other mammals in the way.

Pulling the paint can behind her head, Judy hurled it forward, watching it spin through the air until it reached her target, slamming into the back of the ocelot's head with a loud thud.

"REOW!" the shoplifter screamed before he fell to the ground, clutching the back of his head in pain.

 _DIRECT HIT!_ Judy cheered internally, rushing forward and jumping onto the dazed ocelot. Turning herself toward his tail, her ankles straddled his neck, her hindquarters pushing against his head while she grabbed a pair of zip ties, fastening them together and then wrapping them tight around his wrists.

"You're under arrest!" Judy screamed at the top of her lungs, "For shoplifting, damaging store property, fleeing from an officer, and endangering the safety of civilians! You have the right to remain silent! Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law! You have… the right to… an…" Reading aloud the thief's rights, Judy's mind came to grips with her exhaustion, her lungs gasping for air after pushing herself to run for more than ten miles across the city, "An… attorney… if you can't afford… hang on..."

The adrenaline coursing through Judy's body began to dwindle as she fought to catch her breath. With the excitement of the chase leaving her, Judy's ears began to pick up on her surroundings. She heard a mix of offended gasps and trifling catcalls coming from all sides of her. She'd felt so driven to catch a fleeing criminal that she'd blocked out the eventual embarrassment, but just like she'd caught up to the criminal, her embarrassment caught up to her at the same time.

Despite her victory in catching the thief, Judy was sitting in the middle of a city sidewalk without any pants in broad daylight. She looked around to see that animals of every species looked on, whistling at her, taking pictures of her underwear with their camera phones, or blocking the eyes of their young children and forcing them to keep walking along.

"Hey-hey, nice buns, bun!" someone shouted from the left.

"Oh my goodness! What a poor example of Zootopia's police force!" she heard from the right.

"Cute undies, fluff. You get those from Bunnyburrow?"

Feeling her face grow hot, Judy's paws jumped to the bottom of her shirt, pulling it down to cover herself up. Much to her dismay, she remembered how the bramble and branches of the Rainforest District had torn away at the bottom of her shirt, leaving her without much material to use for cover. With her shirt made useless, Judy had to use her paws to cover between her legs and the center of her bottom. Even with a good portion of her carrot-patterned underwear blocked off, she couldn't do anything to cover the gray fur of her round and ample buttcheeks, seated on the head of a semi-conscious ocelot.

 _Welp, at least I know what tomorrow's top story is going to be on Good Morning Zootopia,_ Judy thought. Her ears fell back, keeping her head down to avoid eye contact with any of the onlookers staring at her.

"Ju-Judy!" a familiar voice called out from behind her. Her ears jumped up as she turned around to see Nick running toward her. Once he was close enough, he dropped his paws to his knees to catch his breath, his scarf hanging from his neck. "I got — got here as fast as — I could… oh man," he stammered, his eyes locked onto Judy's behind, where her paw was still covering herself in vain.

"Hey Nick," Judy muttered, her voice low and defeated as she turned away from him. She knew it wouldn't drive them apart, but Judy felt even more shame from her best friend seeing her in such a state, one-fourth naked in front of an entire city block.

"Here," Nick said, prompting her to turn to him again. She saw Nick had taken his light-brown coat off and held it out toward her, standing in his teal short-sleeve and blue scarf, his face turned to the right and up toward the sky.

"Thank you!" Judy exclaimed, jumping up from the ocelot and giving the crowd around them a full glimpse of her underwear. The sudden cheer from them turned to jeers and boos all around when Judy wrapped the coat around herself and buttoned it down the center, wearing it like a makeshift dress. It was a little bit loose at the top, and could have been pulled down her waist with a strong enough tug, but it would do for the moment. "Seriously Nick, thank you!" Judy shouted, running toward Nick and throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.

"No-n-No problem," Nick replied, his voice shaking, "I'm not just gonna leave you hanging like that. I got your back."

"Hey, rabbit!" a wolf screamed from behind Judy, holding his phone up, "Let's get another peek at that tush! Gimme a moon to howl at, eh?" A number of his wolf friends began to chuckle at his jeer, some of them chanting for her to take off the coat.

"Get your stupid face out of here!" Nick screamed, breaking away from Judy's hug and marching forward, the hairs of his tail flaring with anger as he pulled his wallet and officers badge out, "This is a crime scene, and you're well within a hundred feet! You wanna end up like that guy right there?" Nick asked, pointing to the ocelot still laying on the ground, "That's the rabbit who risked her life to put Bellweather behind bars, when she was darting predators like you so you'd lose your mind and take a chomp out of someone like them," he shouted, pointing at a nearby female pig with her young son. Nick began to wave his badge to the rest of the crowd, directing his glare toward them as he backed his way toward Judy.

"That goes for all of you; back up, one hundred feet. And put those cameras away. How about you show some respect to the officer who busted her tail saving this city, huh?"

Nick's rant left the crowd in silence, a number of animals slowly backing away. While a majority of them put their cameras away in shame, others kept them out, knowing it was an empty threat. Judy looked to the back of Nick's head above her, his face darting in several directions by the second as he stood in front of her. His stood tall and poised, ready to take on anyone who approached him. She found it hard to believe that just thirty minutes ago, this was the same fox whining about how hungry he while she was trying on clothes. Judy felt touched by Nick's resolve to give her what cover he could, and exert his police authority to keep the onlookers at a distance. .

The sound of sirens approached from the distance, and a few seconds later, a pair of police cars pulled up. Out of one car stepped polar bear and lion Officers Andersen and Johnson, and from the other, hippo and rhino Officers Higgins and Krumpanski.

"Whoa there, Hopps," Krumpanski said with a chuckle at the view of Judy wearing Nick's coat around her waist, "That a new fashion statement or something?" The fox and rabbit stared daggers toward the rhino, not finding his joke funny in the slightest.

"We've got a pair of pants for you, Hopps," Officer Johnson said as he approached the pair near the ocelot, "Higgins and Krumpanski will take the suspect back to the station, while us _grown-ups_ give you guys a ride back with us, so you can process the paperwork for the arrest." Johnson looked back at Krumpanski with a condescending glare, Higgins gaving the the rhino a hard punch in the arm, making him wince in pain.

"Thanks," Judy said as she walked with them, clutching to the collar of Nick's coat, covering up what shred of dignity she had left. Officer Andersen opened the door for them, and Nick hoisted himself up the large doorstep first. He turned about and reached a paw down for Judy, who took a hold of him with one paw while still keeping the other clutched to his coat. Andersen knelt down and put his paw under her feet, giving her an additional boost up to the seats. After closing the door behind them, Andersen turned toward the onlooking crowd while Higgins affixed a pair of steel cuffs to the disgruntled ocelot and lifted him to his feet.

"Show's over, folks," Andersen said in a burly voice, "Find something better to do with your day." A series of disappointed groans emanated from the crowd before they began to disperse, carrying on with whatever activities their day still had.

Inside the car, Judy and Nick lifted themselves up to their seats. Judy noticed a small pair of navy sweatpants in the middle seat, reaching out for them and holding them in her lap. A few seconds passed before Officer Johnson took the driver's seat and started the ignition, Andersen sliding into the passenger's seat and grabbing his cup of coffee from the car's holster.

"Hey, um, Hopps," Johnson began after the engine started. Judy kept her head down, not wanting to look at anyone at the moment, "... Good work. You really kicked some tail chasing this guy halfway across the city. ZPD's proud of you."

Judy nodded her head, appreciating his praise, but not feeling her spirits lifted all that much. As they drove off, her eyes looked over at Nick, who offered her a sympathetic smile and a thumbs-up with his left paw.

"Guess you were right," Judy said, her voice still low and crushed.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

"I shouldn't have gone after him. I should have just let the store or mall security handle it. Heck, I could have just called ZPD myself and told them the situation. That way he would've kept casually walking away, and given a better chance for the other officers to —"

"Don't, Judy," Nick interjected before she could finish, "Don't beat yourself up about this. You did the right thing. You saw a crime in progress, you were on the scene, and you took action. You couldn't predict how the chase would play out. Nobody's to blame here except the thief, and a weird twist of fate."

"My ego's to blame," Judy continued, "I just get such a thrill out of catching lawbreakers myself and proving that I'm cut out for this." Judy rubbed her paws over Nick's coat, protecting her from anyone in the car seeing her underwear below it. "This is my punishment for wanting to be a big shot."

"Judy, it's okay," Nick insisted, reaching over and placing his paw over hers, "Ego or not, you still did the right thing. Having an ego that pushes you to uphold the law is better than being lazy to avoid doing it on your day off. That's why you're such a good cop; a heck of a lot better than me."

Hearing Nick's praise helped lift her spirits a bit. She still had the embarrassment and shame weighing on her heart, but she was glad that Nick at least supported her decision to chase after the perp. Looking into his green eyes, she knew he wasn't saying it to make her feel better; he meant every word that he spoke.

"Thank you, Nick," Judy said, allowing herself to smile for the first time since she'd begun chasing the ocelot in the first place, "You should give yourself some credit too though. You did really well keeping the civilians back after I made the arrest. Way to work that badge there, Slick-Nick."

The fox replied with a modest shrug and grin. "Eh, I do what I can," he said, patting her paw before letting her go. The two kept their eyes on one another for a few more seconds, before forcing themselves to turn away.

Half a minute passed, and Judy looked down at the pair of sweatpants in her lap. She knew they'd arrive at the ZPD soon, and they'd probably expect her to waddle in with Nick's coat draped around her all the way to the women's locker room to change. She'd had enough embarrassment for one day; she didn't need to tack on anymore if it wasn't necessary. With her mind made up, Judy laid the sweatpants next to her, before reaching down and unfastening the top button of the coat around her waist.

"Wh-what are you doing!?" Nick asked with alarm.

"Changing into the pants they brought me," Judy replied in a flat voice, her paws moving past the middle button.

"Here? Don't you wanna wait until you're in private?"

"I'm not walking through the ZPD wearing your coat. Better to just get it over with now." Nick let out a deep breath as Judy's thumbs reached the final button on her coat, turning his head to the window in search of something to occupy his eyes for a moment. "You can watch if you want."

"I'm sorry!?" Nick exclaimed as he whipped his head back around, Officer Andersen choking on his coffee from swallowing it down the wrong pipe.

"What I mean is… my underwear is gonna be all over the news tomorrow anyway, probably for the next week too. Getting a peek now won't really make a difference."

"Judy, come on, I'm not gonna do that," Nick reasoned with her, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Suit yourself," Judy said, unfastening the final button, "I'm uncomfortable enough already ; you watching isn't gonna make it any worse."

Judy pulled Nick's coat open wide, and she heard a soft whimper emanate from the fox himself when she exposed the front of her white carrot-patterned panties. Even while she busied herself with unfolding the sweatpants, she could feel Nick's eyes upon her lower body, imprinting the image into his mind. Unlike the gawkers a mile behind them, Nick's eyes looking over her didn't feel unwelcomed. She couldn't explain why, but she didn't feel embarrassed around him. He wouldn't take pictures and post them on Safaribook for everyone on the web to see. He wouldn't make lewd comments to her and treat her like an object. Despite their difference in species, she understood Nick's natural curiosity as a male, and she didn't mind letting him indulge for a bit. Her best friend getting a peek wasn't going to hurt her anymore than what had already taken place.

Once she'd unfolded her new pants, Judy leaned back in her seat, pushing her butt out towards the driver's' seat and putting her knees against her chest. Just as she lowered the waistline to her feet, she heard a soft gasp from beside her. She couldn't help looking over at Nick, seeing not only his fist in his mouth, but his big furry tail pulled across his lap with his legs pressed together while his eyes scanned the gray fur of her buttcheeks.

"... You okay, Nick?" Judy asked, her eyes stuck on his tail over his lap.

"Mhm," Nick murmured, keeping his teeth clenched onto his fist and squeezing his legs even tighter. Judy raised a confused eyebrow, before turning her sight away from Nick's legs and pushed her feet through the sleeves of her pants. She didn't need to ask any questions to know what was underneath that protective tail of his while her eyed her butt on display toward the car ceiling: his face and whimpers said it all.

She found it a little strange though; why was he getting so worked up over seeing a bunny in her underwear? She didn't pegg Nick as the type to feel attraction for someone outside his species. She had no proof of his taste in attraction, but he just didn't seem to swing that way from what she knew. Judy pushed the thought from her mind, chalking it up to common sexual tension between coworkers who were also friends. It would also explain why she felt a bit of a tingle herself knowing that he was getting so worked up from the sight of her in her panties. Both of them would grow past it at some point, and find someone of their own species that were just as good as the other — almost as good, at least.

Ignoring Nick's growing problem, Judy hoisted herself off of the seat and pulled her pants up to her waist, finally dressed properly after what seemed like ages. Just when she'd sat down, she noticed the car coming to a stop before Johnson put it in park.

"Alright, we're here," Johnson said as he clicked his seatbelt off, "Everybody ready to get out?"

"I uh… need a minute," Nick said, keeping his eyes up and his tail pulled firmly against his lap. Judy felt her face grow warm once again, knowing full well why Nick needed some time before he felt ready to leave his seat. On his side of the car, Officer Andersen turned in his seat and looked the fox straight in the eye.

"Hey Nick, did I ever tell you about this toe fungus I had a month ago?" Andersen asked, his face stone as a marble slab. Both Judy and Nick's mouths hung open in shock at the mention of such a grotesque subject. "Really nasty little varmint: big and green, even had a bit of fuzz growing on the side of it. Kind of looked like I had a head of broccoli sprouting on my toe." With her teeth clenched together, Judy could feel a bit of queasiness building in her stomach. Nick's own face twisted as he gagged.

"Oh my god, Andersen!" Nick exclaimed in abhorrence, "That is disgusting!" Following his horrified expression, Nick's eyes looked down to his tail, before he pulled it aside to expose his lap, Judy seeing it without anything to hide. "Huh. Well, thanks for that horrifying story, Andersen. That helped a lot."

The polar bear put his thumb up with a wide grin. "You're welcome, buddy!"

The only sound coming from within the car at the moment was a loud snort from Judy's nose. All three male officers looked toward her, right before her mouth opened up to let out a torrent of laughter. With her eyes shut tight, Judy fell against the middle seat, slapping the extra space in front of her as she lost control of herself. It didn't take long for the rabbit;s laughter to infect the other officers, first spreading to Andersen, then Johnson, and finally to Nick himself as he buried his face within his paw.

"All of you shut up," Nick chuckled as he laughed in his paw, "We are NOT gonna talk about this anymore!"

"Talk about what?" Johnson asked in between his laughter.

"Exactly Johnson, thank you."

Judy shook her head as she laughed, pulling herself up and opening the car door before jumping out. She hadn't realized it until it happened, but that was just what she needed: a good laugh with good friends over something silly and accidental. She still wasn't looking forward to what she'd given the media to chew on for the next week — maybe even the next month — but laughing at Nick's little embarrassing moment made her realize that her own embarrassment would pass too. And after it did, she'd look back at it and laugh with the rest of them: with Nick and with the rest of the city who still respected her, with or without pants on.

* * *

 _Author's Notes:_

 _This makes for my second ever T- rated story, the first one for Zootopia. It's somewhat fun seeing how descriptive I can get about suggestive things without stumbling into Mature or Explicit territory. I might think about doing this again, if people appreciate a bit of teasing without getting a full display of the naughty bits._

 _We're a week away from the big story. I'm waiting on pins and needles to release it. I just want to make sure I've got enough chapters revised and ready to go so I don't fall behind on regular updates once I start. In the meantime, have another preview of what's to come!_

 _post/161097805930/love-stands-with-pride-preview-2 (just replace the dots with . because this site hates links for some reason)_


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